Advanced cardiac life support

Afghanistan - cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) is a set of clinical interventions for the urgent treatment of cardiac arrest, stroke, and other life-threatening medical emergencies, as well as the knowledge and skills to deploy those interventions. ACLS extends the basic life support (BLS) with additional skills in airway management, pharmacology, and the use of advanced equipment.

Overview

ACLS is designed for healthcare professionals who either direct or participate in the management of cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies. This includes personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care, and critical care units. The primary goal of ACLS is to improve the survival rates and outcomes of patients experiencing cardiac emergencies.

Components of ACLS

ACLS encompasses several key components:

• Basic life support (BLS) skills, including high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and early defibrillation.
• Advanced airway management, including the use of endotracheal intubation and supraglottic airway devices.
• Recognition and early management of respiratory arrest.
• Management of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and stroke.
• Intravenous (IV) access and the administration of emergency medications.
• Post-cardiac arrest care, including therapeutic hypothermia and hemodynamic monitoring.

Training and Certification

ACLS certification is typically required for healthcare providers who work in critical care settings. The certification process involves a combination of didactic instruction, practical skills training, and assessment. The American Heart Association (AHA) and other organizations offer ACLS courses that include both online and in-person components.

Pharmacology in ACLS

Several medications are commonly used in ACLS protocols, including:

• Epinephrine for cardiac arrest.
• Amiodarone for ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia.
• Atropine for bradycardia.
• Adenosine for supraventricular tachycardia.

Airway Management

Effective airway management is crucial in ACLS. Techniques include:

• Bag-valve-mask ventilation.
• Use of advanced airway devices such as laryngeal mask airway (LMA) and endotracheal tubes.
• Continuous waveform capnography to confirm and monitor endotracheal tube placement.

Post-Cardiac Arrest Care

Post-cardiac arrest care aims to optimize patient recovery and includes:

• Targeted temperature management (TTM) to improve neurological outcomes.
• Hemodynamic support to maintain adequate blood pressure and perfusion.
• Monitoring and treatment of potential complications such as seizures and acute kidney injury.

Related Pages

• Basic life support
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• Cardiac arrest
• Defibrillation
• Endotracheal intubation
• Acute coronary syndrome
• Stroke

See Also

• American Heart Association
• Emergency medicine
• Intensive care unit
• Critical care medicine

Cardiovascular disease A-Z

Most common cardiac diseases

• Cardiac arrhythmia‎
• Cardiogenetic disorders‎
• Cardiomegaly‎
• Cardiomyopathy‎
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation‎
• Chronic rheumatic heart diseases‎
• Congenital heart defects‎
• Heart neoplasia‎
• Ischemic heart diseases‎
• Pericardial disorders
• Syndromes affecting the heart‎
• Valvular heart disease‎

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

• Accelerated idioventricular rhythm
• Acute decompensated heart failure
• Arteriosclerotic heart disease
• Athletic heart syndrome
• Atrial flutter
• Atrioventricular fistula
• Cardiovascular disease in Australia
• Autoimmune heart disease

B

• Brown atrophy of the heart

C

• Ebb Cade
• Cardiac allograft vasculopathy
• Cardiac amyloidosis
• Cardiac asthma
• Cardiac tamponade
• Cardiogenic shock
• Cardiogeriatrics
• Cardiorenal syndrome
• Cardiotoxicity
• Carditis
• Coronary artery aneurysm
• Coronary artery anomaly
• Coronary artery disease
• Spontaneous coronary artery dissection
• Coronary artery ectasia
• Coronary occlusion
• Coronary steal
• Coronary thrombosis
• Coronary vasospasm
• Cœur en sabot
• Coxsackievirus-induced cardiomyopathy

D

• Duke Treadmill Score
• Duroziez's disease

E

• Eisenmenger's syndrome
• Embryocardia
• Endocardial fibroelastosis
• Eosinophilic myocarditis

H

• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
• Heart to Heart (1949 film)
• High-output heart failure
• Hyperdynamic precordium

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

I

• Idiopathic giant-cell myocarditis
• Interventricular dyssynchrony
• Intraventricular dyssynchrony
• Isolated atrial amyloidosis

K

• Keshan disease

L

• Loeffler endocarditis

M

• Mydicar
• Myocardial bridge
• Myocardial disarray
• Myocardial rupture
• Myocardial scarring
• Myocardial stunning
• Myocarditis

N

• Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis

O

• OLR1
• Ostial disease

P

• Papillary fibroelastoma
• Pathophysiology of heart failure
• Postpericardiotomy syndrome
• Pulmonary vein stenosis

R

• Right axis deviation
• Roemheld syndrome

S

• Saturated fat and cardiovascular disease
• SCAR-Fc
• Shone's syndrome
• Strain pattern
• Subacute bacterial endocarditis
• Sudden cardiac death of athletes

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

T

• Traumatic cardiac arrest

V

• Ventricular aneurysm
• Vibroacoustic disease
• Viral cardiomyopathy

W

• Waon therapy